A Second Chance
by Crona4
Summary: Set in the future; Everything had calmed down for a few years at least and Rumplestiltskin and Belle are met with a...new kind of challenge. How well will the two Enchanted Lovers deal with parenthood?


Belle hesitated outside the door of Ruby's house, her fist raised to knock. Her heart was beating fast and furious in her chest and she wasn't sure what to do. It was late; way past the time Belle should be out. She had simply told Rumplestiltskin that she was out for a midnight stroll, and he, being too tired and drunk from the special alcohol he had acquired from heaven knows where to question her. He normally didn't drink much, but he called this a special occasion.

Belle had warned Ruby earlier in the day, during her break that she would be coming around late, after Granny's Diner had closed and Ruby was in her own home again. Belle was usually really brave and everything, but when it came down to it, she was human. Added onto that, right now she had discovered something that terrified her more than going to live with the Dark One had. Thinking about it made her knees begin to tremble slightly. _No,_ she told herself. _Keep it together, you can do this… You lived with an imp for a long time before finally discovering he wasn't really a beast at all but a misunderstood, lonely man. You chased the Yaoguai. You lived through literal Hell in the tower of the Evil Queen. You spent 28 years in an asylum wondering who you are. You've forgotten yourself. There is so much more that you have done. You can do this._

Her little mini pep talk had actually worked for once and she very lightly tapped her fist against the door four times, then she paused and tapped it five times. That was her and Ruby's code so that they knew when it was each other. Belle stood on shaky legs for a few minutes as she waited. Ruby was probably just checking that Granny was asleep. Honestly, the bookworm wasn't sure what her werewolf friend would think of her news, but judging from how the waitress had dealt with the marriage, it would probably be rather quiet for a long time. But Belle didn't care; Ruby was the one friend she could always count on.

Sure, Mary Margaret and Emma and even Ashley were supportive, no one had really tried to understand Belle's relationship with her husband as much as Ruby. Ruby gave the most support out of anyone, backing Belle up whenever she needed it even when the werewolf didn't quite know why Belle had made her decisions. Those signs made it pretty clear to the librarian that the waitress was the best friend she could ask for.

Just then, the door opened slightly. A hand with a perfect coat of red nail polish on each finger slid out and grabbed Belle's arm. Belle jumped at first as Ruby had never greeted her like this before, but slipped inside once she knew that it was who she thought. Ruby held one finger in front of her lips and pointed her thumb backwards. Belle's blue gaze rested upon Granny, fast asleep in a chair facing the door. Belle nodded at Ruby once and tried to clear the worry from her eyes as they weaved side by side through the house until they reached the base of the stairs.

Carefully, as to not wake Granny up, the pair crept up the stairs as silently as they could. In just a few seconds, they were at the top. Ruby led the way to her room, even though Belle already knew where it was. When inside, they shut the door behind them and sat down on Ruby's bed. Belle opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it once more before closing it again. Ruby waited patiently for a few minutes before finally speaking up.

"So… What did you want to talk about?" she began, her voice quiet but audible. Belle bit her lip as she tried to figure out how to word her terror. Before the bookworm could utter one word, though, she was in tears. This alarmed Ruby, who immediately scooted closer and hugged her friend close. "Belle! What's wrong?"

Belle simply shook her head, closing her mouth tight so she didn't awaken Granny with her sobs. Tears still leaked out even so. She pushed away from Ruby, still shaking her head. "I…" she started trembling ever so slightly. Her eyes were on her hands but she quickly met Ruby's expectant, but patient gaze. Belle took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "I-I'm… I'm with child…"

* * *

><p><em>Rumplestiltskin was dreaming. It had been three days since Belle had told Ruby, but he didn't know. He hadn't even the slightest clue that there was a child. His dream began with a small crib of sorts high in a tree, with Belle standing below. Rumple tried to move towards her, but some unknown force was holding her back. Belle opened her mouth, but instead of words, she began to sing.<em>

_"__Rock-a-Bye baby in the treetop…_

_When the wind blows, the cradle will rock…"_

_Her voice was haunting, and the cradle up above began to rock ever so gently as a breeze kicked in, painstakingly slow. Cries emanated from the cradle; obviously there was a baby inside. This confused Rumple. He knew the song; it was old but not old enough to which he had been able to sing it to Baelfyre. Still, it had been implanted in his brain once the curse was cast, along with a couple other songs. Gradually, Belle's eyes grew ever darker._

_"__When the Belle breaks, the cradle will fall…"_

_Rumplestiltskin was more than just confused now. He knew the song, he did. It was supposed to be when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. Even so, this new parody simply terrified the heck out of him, and he just fought harder against the unseen restraints. "Belle!" he called out, but it was as if she'd never heard him. Instead, the branches the crying baby was held in began to sway._

_"__Down will go baby, cradle in…"_

_She broke off as the screams from the cradle intensified. Now her skin was as pale as the moonlight, her eyes much darker than usual. Rumplestiltskin's heart was beating fast in his chest as Belle opened her mouth one last time._

_"__All!" she screeched the word like a banshee. The moment it was out of her mouth, the limbs of the tree began to snap off one by one, but the cradle remained for now. Chains appeared on Belle's wrists, trapping her so she couldn't move however much she struggled._

_Her eyes and skin were back to normal but she had tears leaking down her face, glistening in the night. "Rumplestiltskin!" she screamed. "Rumple help me, please! Help me!"_

_Rumplestiltskin fought harder against his own restraints but it would not let him go. He shouted Belle's name over and over but it did no good. The tree branches falling around Belle began hitting her, and as if they were knives, they sliced through her skin like it was Jell-O. The sight of her blood pooling on the ground nearly shattered the man, and outraged him at the same time._

_Belle suddenly stopped asking him to help her, her request changing. "Rumple! The baby! Save the baby! Leave me, the baby needs you! You can't let her die! You can't just leave her to die! That's not the kind of man you are!"_

_Before he could react, though, the entire tree, baby and all, came crashing down over Belle. Rumple shrieked for his love, but to no avail. Her blood seeped out of the debris, and it was almost like he could still hear her voice… Rumple… Rumple…_ "Rumple! Rumplestiltskin stop kicking me and wake up, you're going to break something!"

Rumplestiltskin sat up with a jolt, accidentally hitting his forehead on Belle's. "Oh… God, that's going to leave a bump…" Belle muttered, fingering her forehead a tiny bit before returning her gaze to Rumplestiltskin. "Rumple, honey! Calm down, it's just me. I promise, it's just me," she soothed. He was still breathing hard, though.

When he registered that it was her, he immediately snatched her close, hugging her as tight as he could. "Belle… My sweet, darling Belle…"

Belle was confused at first, but hugged him back nonetheless. Obviously he had a nightmare at the inconvenient time of 1 o'clock in the morning. "Shh… Shh…" she shushed him gently, burying her face in his shoulder as much as she could fit.

She had been woken up by him tossing and turning and, yes, _kicking._ It worried her at first for he could kick her stomach, but she'd made sure to be careful when attempting to wake him. Despite her tenderness around her stomach, her legs received quite a beating from his terrified legs. He wasn't known to have nightmares, though. Usually she had nightmares and he had to comfort her, but now it was vice versa.

After a while, he'd calmed down enough and was to the point where his body had stopped shaking. He didn't want to talk about the dream that had seemed way too real for him to believe it was just a dream. He softly pushed her back and she complied, retracting to look him in the eye. "Belle," he began. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Little sirens went off in Belle's head and she sat back on her legs, her lower lip disappearing between her teeth. She looked down as she twiddled her thumbs, trying but failing to hide her guilt. _He knows!_ She thought to herself in panic. _How could he know!? Unless Ruby told him… No, she wouldn't do that. How does he know?_ "No," she lied. Then she paused, feeling remorse and regret mixing together into one ugly concoction that made her feel downright awful. She met Rumple's gaze and he gave her a pressuring look, like he'd just been through Hell and back and only wanted the truth.

That's when Belle broke down. "Okay, yes…" she relented shamefully. Her hands came to rest on her abdomen, but her husband didn't notice. He placed one hand comfortingly on her shoulder and a tear slipped out of her eye, crawling warmly down her fleshy cheek. She was still frightened by the truth, no matter how much Ruby had tried to reassure her that it was going to be alright. She couldn't be a mother and she knew it. She just hoped that when she told Rumple, he would also know it. She had a petrified look on her face when she confessed, staring at the sheets. "Y-you're going to be a father again… I'm pregnant…"

Rumplestiltskin blinked in surprise. Of all the things that the dream could have foretold: she was sick, she was hurt, or even she was leaving him (which he dreaded being true), he hadn't thought of that one, strangely enough. He had been too focused on Belle to really pay any attention to the child or whose it was. Belle buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

And it was then, right then, that she looked so small and weak and all in all _broken_ that he couldn't stand the sight of it anymore; it pulled at his heartstrings too hard. He swallowed his own shock and closed the distance she'd created between them, making his way the few inches all the way over to her. He then proceeded to hug her as tight as he could ever hug anyone, but made sure to be wary of her stomach. "Oh, Belle… My beautiful, darling Belle…" he whispered as she clutched him, weeping into his shirt. "It's alright, I promise… Nothing will happen to the baby…"

Belle's mood swung and she recoiled immediately, her wet gaze hard. "That's not what I'm upset about, you jerk!" she yelled, hitting his arm hard. His face was completely blank with bewilderment as he couldn't fathom any words and she continued to smack his bicep feebly over and over again even though it was doing minimal damage. "I know that being the Dark One doesn't let you read my mind but you should know why I'm not okay either way because that's the rules of marriage that Ruby told me! I'm not crying because I think the child won't be safe! I'm crying because I think-"she broke herself off, the look of horror and anger on her face reducing to just plain sorrow.

Rumple grabbed her hand to keep it from striking again. His face was pleading for her to open up and to cool off. Usually she was begging him to open up, but this time it seemed as if the whole night was backwards. She knew that the hormones were messing with her head, otherwise she'd act a little calmer and more relaxed, but she felt as if she was never allowed to break down like this because it wasn't like her and everybody expected her to remain in her calm demeanor even when she had to let it out.

Belle was trembling as she swallowed her sobs and continued. "I'm worried that… That I won't be a good mother… I don't know the first thing about being a mother; I'd never been given the chance to learn… The baby's going to hate me, Rumple!" she fretted, to which he stared at her, astonished. Ruby had helped her immensely the night she'd told her, letting the bookworm wear herself out and acting like she understood instead of fighting back and trying to change Belle's mind like Rumplestiltskin was doing.

"How could anyone hate you?" he asked. She opened her mouth to retort something, but he pressed his finger to her lips. "I mean, you're smart, funny, amazing, sweet, gentle, loving, wonderful, determined, stubborn, loyal, kind, persistent, and all in all loveable, not to mention how so, so very beautiful that sometimes I'm blinded by your beauty," he whispered comfortingly.

A blush rose on her cheeks and she looked away to try and hide it. "You're a dork…" she mumbled in reply, still mulling over his words. She didn't quite believe them, but they had filled her with warmth that only her husband's soothing could bring on. She struggled to get rid of the blush but unfortunately it wasn't working.

A smile lit up his face, small and even a little cocky. "I know I am. Trust me, even if I'm gone, you'll be a perfect mother." He meant the words he was saying. He couldn't think of a better mother for a child than his Brave Little Belle. Several times she'd remind him she's a grown woman but he refused to call her anything other than his Brave Little Belle. It was a nickname he'd made up for her many, many years ago.

Unfortunately for Rumplestiltskin, he'd hit a nerve. Belle scrambled out of the bed and stood up, facing him, all redness having left her cheeks. "That's just it! If you're gone, Rumple, I won't be able to do _anything_ at all! I can't do it on my own… Everyone assumes I can do all these things because I survived this and that and I have, I really have! I don't know, maybes it's just the stress that'd making me act like this but right now it really feels like I can't do anything on my own!" she shouted, frustrated.

"Hey, hey… Calm down…" Rumple soothed, standing up with her and giving her a nice long kiss which definitely changed her mood again. "It's okay," he said when they'd pulled back for air. Her lips were still slightly parted as if she wanted more, but he needed to speak. "I promise you that I will not let you be alone. I will be right here with you every step of the way, dearie," he told her with a genuine smile.

Nonetheless, she was still a little skeptical. "Every step?"

"Every single arduous, sleepless step of the way," he vowed.

* * *

><p>The two hands clasped together tightly, one squeezing the other more than necessary. The pain was over. It was gone. Now came a few minutes of relaxation. She looked over at him, her tired blue eyes searching his face. He stared right back down at her and gave a small smile, kissing the top of their entwined hands.<p>

"You did good, dearie. You made it," he told her reassuringly and then leaned forward and gently kissed the top of her head as she nodded, still breathing sort of heavily. They both had a layer of sweat covering their foreheads, hers from pain and his from stress and worry, but now she reached over with her free hand, placing it on top of the tangle consisting of her hand and her husband's hand.

Her breath was a little ragged and she was still sore but she didn't care about that. She'd dealt with worse. The birth itself had been unbearable for both of them but now things had gone down and she was actually relieved to find that most of the pain had left, leaving just the aftermath to be dealt with. "Rumplestiltskin," she breathed out, closing her eyes briefly to try and calm her nerves.

"Yes Belle?" Rumplestiltskin replied while keeping his eyes trained on her. She was perfect even when she was visually exhausted; looking like all she wanted was to crawl up into a little ball and go to sleep, which he wouldn't doubt being what she actually wanted after what she'd just been through.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "D-do you think she made it…?" she whispered softly, squeezing her eyes tight for a minute or so before looking at him again. Their baby had actually come a few weeks early and wasn't breathing when she was born, so the doctors had to rush the child to some machine that they claimed would help her breathe, as she hadn't developed the ability to do so on her own yet.

Rumple sighed a little bit. "I think… I think the doctors are doing absolutely everything in their power to be certain that she does make it," he responded, not wanting to give her false hope. Deep down inside, he was secretly almost as worried as her about whether the baby would live or not; after all, she was his first daughter, but he had to be strong for Belle.

Belle pressed her forehead against their hands, shaking her head ever so slowly. "That's not what I asked," she reminded him with a slight huff. He had a way of avoiding questions that she wasn't always so fond of, but she had to admit that it came in handy sometimes.

He looked down at her guiltily. "I know…" he lamented. "But I don't want to say anything about it until it's confirmed, okay Beautiful?" She gave one nod. "Personally I think she'll be just as strong as her mother and just as stubborn, too. In that case, she should be just fine, for god is her mother stubborn! I mean seriously, it's like I don't have a say in anything I do!" he joked, trying to lift the mood.

Belle lifted her head and smacked him gently. "Shut up…" she muttered, though she was smiling.

* * *

><p>Rumplestiltskin woke up to the sound of a baby's cries. He groaned and poked Belle, but she had their only pillow and was covering her ears with it. "Your turn," she mumbled, though it was muffled. He still heard it, even though he didn't want to. It was his turn.<p>

He sighed and dragged himself out of bed. Bleary-eyed, he walked sleepily over to the crib near the door. He reached down and picked up the crying 1 month old. She had survived the birth and developed the ability to breathe soon enough. Right after she was set, Belle had been rushing him to get there as fast as possible, even though he was already hurrying to meet his daughter. They had already been able to look at her through glass and windows, but it wasn't nearly the same thing.

After their very first time seeing the beautiful infant, they had together decided on the name Angel, first suggested by him and confirmed by her. The name was not randomly picked; the little girl looked just like an angel… That is, when she was asleep. When the baby was awake, she was the loudest child Rumple had ever heard most of the time. There were the rare occasions when the darling child was awake and calm, but otherwise she was a rambunctious one that kept them up half the night.

Rumplestiltskin checked the diaper, but it was surprisingly clean. He carried Angel over to her mother and decided to play a tiny trick on Belle. He placed the screeching baby right next to Belle's head, and the cries were so loud that they broke through the protection of the pillow.

Belle made a tired and irritated noise, pulling the pillow even tighter. "I said your turn!" she shouted through the cotton and fabric.

Rumple couldn't help but smile to himself. "Oh but dearie, the baby's hungry. The doctors said because of her premature birth, she can't drink from a baba until two months. Not that I need to remind you. It's feeding time," he smirked a little bit, just about fully awake now.

A sigh floated out from the pillows. Belle really hated feeding time. She still wasn't used to the feeling and didn't think she ever would be, even though Mary Margaret always reassured her otherwise. Belle reluctantly sat up and grabbed her baby, holding her close and shushing her gently.

The blanket was pulled up over the child and Belle's torso soon after. The bookworm glared at her husband as if it he were to blame. "Hey, it's not my fault," he defended. "You're her mother, you produced her," he continued.

Belle rolled her eyes at this. "Oh, come on. You had a part in her development as well. A woman cannot simply conceive a child all on her own. She needs help," she pointed out. "Plus, not to mention you promised you would help me every step of the way and pushing her towards me isn't helping."

Rumplestiltskin hesitated before stepping closer and responding. "Well, if I could feed her, then I would, but I don't have what's necessary," he replied, earning himself a well-aimed kick where it counts.

* * *

><p>Ruby grinned to herself as she brought the cold glass of iced tea over to the table Belle was sitting at. The four month old Angel was in a carrier on the table, actually quiet. Since the first month, the child had calmed down quite a bit during the day, but judging by the dark circles under the librarian's eyes, Ruby guessed she was still just as loud at night.<p>

The waitress placed the glass on the table in front of her friend, whose head was resting on the table. Belle didn't notice at first, and Ruby had to shake her friend to get her up. Belle's head jerked up but she relaxed when she realized it was just Ruby. "Thanks Ruby," she responded, rubbing at one eye as she reached over and took a drink.

Ruby willingly sat in the seat right across from Belle, her head in her hands. No words were exchanged for a little while as Ruby turned the carrier towards her to take a good look at the baby. The mother noticed, but didn't care for she trusted her werewolf friend. Ruby reached one hand in and gently played with Angel, rubbing her tummy as tiny hands grabbed at the waitress's fingers. The baby giggled, the sound like music to Belle's ears, making her smile as she sipped her tea. Ruby returned her attention to the bookworm. "No sleep, huh?"

Belle's smile faded a little bit as she stared at the condensation on her glass. She sighed and gave a small shrug. "Not really. Rumple has been staying late at the shop and when he comes home he's been in the basement trying to work on a protection spell that won't harm babies. Even though I usually disapprove of him using magic, there are still people in this world or the next who will want to harm our family and I-I just want her to be safe," she elaborated without ever moving her gaze from her tea.

Ruby nodded even though she knew her friend wasn't looking. By now Angel had taken one of the werewolf's long fingers to her mouth and was teething. Ruby didn't care, though. Personally she really liked children, but she had to stay away in Wolf's Season because, even though she could control it, she wanted to be sure. "Yeah, I see what you mean. You really need a night to relax," she commented.

A small smile lit up Belle's face, her blue eyes gleaming in the light. "I'd love a night to rest but as I'm sure you've seen being a mother is kind of a full-time job, and plus I love my darling girl no matter how much she keeps me up at night. I will do whatever it takes to keep my baby happy."

Ruby let her forehead fall to the table gently. "Oh god, now you sound like one of those cheesy mothers who always talk about how they'd do this and that for their child. That doesn't suit you Belle," the waitress werewolf opinioned as Belle failed to hide her mirth at Ruby's words.

The Beauty was about to reply when a light bulb seemed to go off is Ruby's head and she gasped, her eyes lighting up. "Maybe one night I can babysit her for you!" she exclaimed excitedly, and blue eyes across from her took on the same wondrous glow.

"That would be wonderful!" the librarian agreed. "After all, you are her godmother and everything and even though she's just a babe, the bonding would be fantastic! I'm sure Rumple would be all for it, I mean he knows you and he knows that I trust you. Really though, I'd love just one night off," she smiled.

* * *

><p>Ruby sighed and rolled the baby stroller to her room, getting ready for a long night. She had promised Belle a good night of sleep, though, and she wasn't going to back out of that promise. After all, Belle barely got very much sleep. Ruby could endure one night of it.<p>

She clasped her hands together as she stood over the child. She had already talked it over with Granny, who had reluctantly agreed to let her babysit. "Okay, I'm going to tell you how it works around here," Ruby stated, while the infant just looked around, moving her small hands happily. "I have a bag from your mother with three full bottles of milk, though I doubt you'll drink that much. Two are in the fridge and I have the other one. I also have diapers, wipes, and a binky for your late night screams. In the night, when you need anything, you know the drill. Just cry and I'll be up, I promise. I'm not that heavy of a sleeper. Plus, I've gone longer without sleep. I will tend to your needs and give you your binky and then I'm going back to sleep, okay?"

All she got was a blink, but that was good enough for her. She felt a buzz on her thigh and took out her phone to see that Belle was already texting her, making sure that Angel was alright and happy. Ruby smiled to herself and replied that the baby was fine and Belle should get some sleep.

Then Ruby lifted the child carefully out of the stroller and cradled the head like Rumplestiltskin had showed her around twenty times, trying to make sure she got it right. And she did, eventually. But she was feeling nervous for the night. After all, this was the child of the Dark One. Were she to mess up even once, he'd probably have her head on a silver platter, and that was something she didn't exactly want to go through…

He had given her very clear instructions on how to hold her, though. She mulled over them in her head as she expertly carried Angel to her carrier, which would serve as a makeshift crib throughout the night. Ruby would have requested the actual crib but Rumplestiltskin was working and Belle looked tired enough, so the werewolf decided to just go with it. If Belle said it was fine then it probably was, right?

Ruby shrugged and tucked the child in; who let out a few adorable baby sounds of what Ruby expected was happiness. The werewolf smiled down at the little girl. "Hi cutie pie," she told her happily.

* * *

><p>The child tugged on her father's shirt, her eyes wide. Rumplestiltskin looked down and saw his daughter Angel looking at him expectantly. A small half-smile lit up his face. "Done drawing?" he asked. He had bought her large triangular crayons a few months ago, for her second birthday.<p>

She nodded, grinning as she hung on his hand. She had first come to his shop with him about a year ago and nothing had happened, so Belle and Rumplestiltskin had decided to kind of tradeoff who takes her to work with them. Angel tried to tell her father something, but her speech wasn't quite developed yet. She could talk and say a few words-in fact her first word was "rose" as she loved the flowers so much-but it was a slow process.

"Papa!" She knew that word for sure. After saying rose, Rumplestiltskin had been baffled and nearly brainwashed the child into saying papa next. He had to refrain from using magic on his little girl, though. He picked her up and looked into her brown eyes that matched his. Or, at least, they matched his in this world. In the Enchanted Forest, they were nothing near alike.

Little Angel had grown long brown curls that looked chestnut in the sunlight, resembling her mother. So far, the toddler also seemed to like being read to. Another habit from her mother.

She had inherited genes from her father, as well. For example, the child always held items carefully no matter what it was, and she seemed to see the importance in every object. Back at home she had a collection of common mundane things such as a bottle cap or a shoelace that she finds on the floor in Storybrooke. Belle and Rumple usually don't care as long as they are cleaned.

Rumplestiltskin grinned as he spun his baby girl around in circles as she laughed happily along. He had fallen in love with three women in his life. The first one left him for a pirate because he was a coward. The second one ripped out her own heart rather than be with him. But his third love adored him every step of the way, and continues to adore him. Not to mention, his third love, the best one there is, gave him the greatest gift anyone could give him. A second chance.


End file.
